is a race-car driver in
NASCAR , best known for his win at the
1990 Daytona 500 . He currently does not have a full-time ride.
Growing up in
Spanaway, Washington , racing was just a hobby for Cope, who was a successful
Catcher on his high-school baseball team, attending
Whitman College to continue his baseball dreams. While being recruited my major-league baseball teams, he suffered a knee injury that ended his hopes of big-league glory, and Cope then devoted himself to racing full time.
Cope soon progressed through the short-track ranks in the
Northwest , and later made his
Winston Cup debut at
Riverside International Raceway in
1982 . Cope's #95 car finished 36th there after developing an oil leak, and he won $625.
He ran part-time in the
Winston Cup series after that, making a brief attempt at
Rookie Of The Year in
1987 . In
1989 , he signed with
Bob Whitcomb to drive the #10
Purolator Pontiac and later
Chevrolet , posting four top-10 finishes.
During the last lap of the
1990 Daytona 500 ,
Dale Earnhardt ran over a piece of debris and cut a tire in turn three, causing him to nearly lose control. After narrowly avoiding most of the resulting debris, Cope assumed the lead and earned his first win in NASCAR competition. He is best remembered for the quote "when you wake up the next morning and see your name in the papers, it is just unbelievable".
At Dover later in the
1990 season, Cope rallied for another unlikely win after running out of fuel and falling off the lead lap. At year's end, he wound up 18th in points.
Following the 1992 season, Cope left the Whitcomb operation--which closed down--and drove an originally unsponsored #66
Ford for
Cale Yarborough . The car was later sponsored by
Bojangles , and the number changed to #98, reflecting the restaurant's 98 menu items.
Midway thorough the
1994 season, Cope was replaced by
Jeremy Mayfield and began driving for
Bobby Allison 's #12
Straight Arrow Ford , after a brief stint with car owner
T.W. Taylor . During this season, Cope won his first career Busch Series race at
New Hampshire International Speedway , driving the #82
Ford Thunderbird for
Ron Zock .
The 1995 season was Cope's most consistent. He chalked up eight top-10 finishes, and garnered a 15th-place finish in points.
When Allison's team shut down after the
1996 season, Cope signed on with the fledging
MB2 Motorsports operation, driving the #36
Skittles Pontiac to a 27th-place finish in points. After one year, he was released and signed on with the
Bahari Racing operation. Despite missing some races due to an injury, Cope won his first career pole position at
Lowe's Motor Speedway , although he failed to post a top-10 finish in the #30
Gumout car.
Cope returned to Bahari in
1999 with
Sara Lee sponsorship. After failing to qualify for 10 races, Cope was released from the team. He made sporadic appearances for
LJ Racing and
Larry Hedrick Motorsports , and later signed on to drive the #15
Ford Taurus owned by
Fenley-Moore Motorsports . However, Cope became unhappy when the team only ran a part-time schedule, and quit in disgust. He spent the rest of the year on the sidelines, before taking over the #86
R.C. Cola Dodge Ram at
Impact Motorsports at the end of the season in the
Craftsman Truck Series .
In
2001 , Cope announced the formation of
Quest Motor Racing , a team he would co-own with drag racer
Warren Johnson . The team didn't qualify for a race all year, and his only start came with
CLR Racing . He ran four races in the Busch Series in the #94 owned by
Fred Bickford , posting a best finish of 21st at
Bristol Motor Speedway . The team had mild success the next year, garnering sponsorship from
Avacor and
Poison . Cope also ran some races with
BAM Racing that year.
.]]
After 18 starts in
2003 , Cope merged the team with
Arnold Motorsports . After several starts, Cope was released from the ride, so he took back his equipment. He also ran 30 races in the #49
Advil Ford for Jay Robinson in the Busch Series that season. His best finish--20th place--came at Daytona.
In
2005 , Cope tried merging his team again, joining forces with
Larry Hollenbeck and
S.W.A.T. Fitness , but lost the opportunity after he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. Cope had attempted a couple of races with
Ware Racing Enterprises before making his only Cup start of the season at
Martinsville Speedway , finishing 33rd in the #08
Royal Administration Dodge for
McGlynn Racing . Cope was later given the team's full-time ride in the #00, as requested by the sponsor.
In
2006 , Cope intended to run a full schedule for McGlynn with #74 car, but soon cut back to part-time. His best finish was at
Michigan International Speedway , where he finished 34th. In the Busch Series, his best finish in the 49 car was 33rd at
Dover International Speedway , and his best start was 33rd at
Bristol Motor Speedway . He intended to run more races with McGlynn in 2007, but the team suspended operations after only attempting one race. He still racess occasionally with
Jay Robinson Racing in the Busch Series and has driven a part-time
Craftsman Truck Series schedule in 2007 with
Xpress Motorsports .
